Two Different Truck Stories

 

Lazy Ass told me a short story of a truck driver, a Caucasian fella, whom he encountered when they were stopped at a traffic light a few weeks ago. He said that while they were waiting for green, he grabbed his phone to check, as this is today's addiction of the majority of the people! The truck driver yelled at him to put the phone down! He said that he could have gotten into a heated argument or possibly even a fist fight but let it go!

A day after that I went to a London Drugs location to pick up a big item that had been ordered earlier. A tiny Asian guy from the store helped to put it in the back of the car as he believed it would fit! While we were struggling, I heard someone asked if we needed help. I turned and there was this Caucasian fella with both arms tattooed to the shoulder! He looked scary but I asked he much how would charge. He said: Nothing! And added that he just wanted to get something from inside and we would be heading to my place! I thanked him and with the help from the guy from the store put the item in the back of his truck.

He then drove me home. I put the package in the garage and we went to where I had parked. I got his number and now we're supposed to meet the moment that the restrictions are lifted. He might not be the kind of the guy that I usually hang out with but I need to show him that I have not forgotten him and I will thank his favour, at least with drink. 

(Photo: A Dodge Ram. A popular pick up truck in North America)

It is too Freaking Late!

If this question ever comes to your mind: Who are the stupidest people in the world? 

What would your answer be? I would candidate Canadians as a possible correct answer! Why? Because they destroyed and keep destroying one of the most beautiful countries in the world by their stupidity and greed. In the so-called Lower Mainland British Columbia, the fool Canadians destroyed half of the region by cutting trees and built houses and condominiums and selling them to Asians in a way that the population of Asians is more than combined the Aboriginals and Canadians! If you could find any place in the entire world that people are as stupid as this, name it to me. 

Apart from a little farming and a number of small technology companies, the only jobs available in Brit "SHIT " Columbia is logging, fishing, which is mostly fish farming and public services. The rest have to work like horses to make ends meat. Many work under-the-table jobs or some call it cash. Those shitheads have their own problems which is not the subject of this post (tax evaders). Oh! I almost forgot this; 1 out of 5 British Columbians works in tourism industry. Interestingly all of those people are screwed really badly now because of the damn pandemic. 

Part of Bow Valley and TransCanada Highway shortly before the town of Canmore. As you can see on the top left of the picture the mountain is used as a mine and facilities have been built to use that ore and process it to whatever they want. These are only parts of the destruction in Canada. Just a tiny part. I took this picture on my way to the summit of Middle Sister one of the major mountains in the town of Canmore

But what I wanted to mention here is the fact that they have gone too far now that there's no way that they can stop the destruction. And of course it's not my word. It's what Davis Suzuki, the Japanese-Canadian environmentalist says. It's like a spacecraft which has reached the point of  no return!

With all that said, it was in the news just today that two major development project are cancelled in the town of Canmore. Thanks whoever had a little functioning brain in their skull and voted against these devastating projects. For the ones who don't know much about Canmore I should say that it's a very nice little town in Bow Valley of Alberta in western Canada, surrounded by beautiful mountains, forest and lakes. I have done a number of nice hikes around the town and I'm happy that the place is not going to be ruined by the ugly condominiums, roads and bridges. 

(Photo, top: A very familiar scene in British Columbia. Trees are cut to be processed and sold to the builders and exported to the US for the same reason)

Bugaboo Provincial Park

It's 5.5 months into 2021 and since the entire 2020 was wasted due to the stupid job I have and the pandemic, I decided to have another hike this past week. Although it's a bit early but my Mexican buddy agreed and we headed toward west on a cloudy morning on his pick up truck. That's what I like about this fella: He is not a silly cheap as*hole like a few that I have been to hike with.

Our destination was Bugaboo Provincial Park in western British Columbia. So you get to Highway # 95 , southbound from Highway # 1 and get yourself to Radium Hot Springs. From that town you go north until you get to the small community of Brisco. 

It is in that village that you need to get on a gravel road into the woods and drive up for almost 1 hour. If it had not been because his pick up truck, we would never have been able to get ourselves into the woods but the road got so bad that we eventually had to leave the vehicle truck and walk. 

After nearly 50 minutes of driving in a narrow, gravel, mountainous road we decided to reduce the risk by walking the rest at this point.

It was okay because that's why we were there but the problem was we were not able to reach any point which say this actually is the entrance to the park! There was no sign and there was nobody. There were so many private properties at the side of the road and we wondered what those people were doing there in the middle of the woods! In  fact we saw cattle and obviously that was one of the things people do there, in addition to logging! 

We walked for a bit more than hour in snow and sun and the road got steep at times. It was almost 16:30, I think, that we decided to go back because we certainly didn't want to drive down the mountainous road at night. One thing that I must add here and stress on, is the fact that my GPS helped us a lot. The funny thing is the way back to the main road (Highway # 95, north)  was partially, I mean only part of it(!), was different from the way on the way to the top. There is a lake that we saw on the way up and we by-passed it on the way back down!

Anyways this trip was just to explore the area and we didn't take any map and didn't bother asking anyone either in Radium or Brisco, regardless of the fact that I'm not sure if there was anyone available but the trip back home took really long or at least this is how I felt! By the time I was home it was passed midnight! One thing I'm sure of is that if someone spends the night at Radium or if there's a place in Brisco, in there, the next days trip + hike would be pleasant in late June or after.

(Photo: One of the many mountains in the park or perhaps it should be said a few of many summits in the park. It's climbing should be interesting) 

The Immunization and its Troubles

Just two days after everything went back to normal for me, after I got my first shot of AstraZeneca, I started to feel a sever pain in my right knee and the attached tendon. This was not new to me. I had that problem when I came back from our hike to Telescope Peak, more than 2 years ago. I hoped it goes away but the pain was so bad that I did not sleep for two days. I fact I slept for as little as 2 hours, two night in a row.
Here I made a mistake. Instead of going to a clinic I went to an Urgent Care Center and ended up wasting nearly 4 hours there until being seen by a so-called Health Care Professional who happened to be a Nursing Trainee! They didn't even bother sending a doctor to me and I wonder if that is a violation of my rights and if I should contact AHS. I explained the story and my history to her and she suggested to have Blood Work (Blood Test) to see if that is the sign of Blood Clot which is the main side effect of AstraZeneca and has caused people injury and even death! I agreed and waited. I waited and I think another 1 hour passed. No one showed and I decided to get the hell out of the damn room to see what the hell was going in! 
The funny thing is the Province announced that AstraZeneca would no longer be administered due to the number of health issues some have had but whoever has received it is guaranteed to receive the second doze as well! I guess this is my luck!

She then came back after a few minutes and stated that they (her and a senior nurse!) had concluded that it was not a clot and I was free to go! They said it was a Gout Flare that I at time get that. I left and apparently they were right because I'm fine.

(Photo: a teenage nursing student in Australia got blood cloth in her leg(s) after she received AstraZeneca and here is the photo the media use to show who she is! A young Caucasian teen girl who thinks of nothing but skimpy dress, booze, casual sex and drugs! That's all fine but why the media should show this photo and how did they get that? Obviously from her! That's a good advertisement for a girl although I don't believe a girl like that requires introduction to the public to have a good short or long partner!

Bear Spary/Pepper Spray Experience!

I bought a Bear Spray, I guess it was nearly 7 years ago from MEC. Never had to deploy during any hike. Just a couple of days ago I was packing for the second hike of this year and I said to myself: Why don't I see how the spray is and take it with me. So I grabbed it from my hiking item box in the garage and considering the fact that they say it expires (loses the pressure) after 3 years or so, I slightly pulled the trigger! 

Bad mistake! The content was sprayed out with a slight touch and luckily I was not in the middle of the living room or in a bedroom and the dark orange material got on the wall and railing! That was not my only mistake! The second one was even worse! I know as a fact, from my training at the CBSA College that when the pepper spray is discharged, the officer should not make any attempt to reach the subject because after the deployment there would be a poisonous cloud between the subject and officer, in my case, the wall and me(!) which is very irritating. So because I was worried that the material might make a mark on the rail and the wall, I ran back to the kitchen and came with with a piece of tissue to wipe it off! That immediately caused me irritation in the lungs and eyes and I started coughing! 

I then turn the bathroom's fan on and opened the balcony's door but I still was hurting. So I went into the bathroom and started washing my hands and face with cold water and soap. That was another mistake because I had some of the material on my hands and touching my face made it burnt! I kept washing until I felt a bit better but eventually realized that the best thing to do is go upstairs until this thing settles down. 

I waited nearly 3 hours but I still felt sick. That was when I decided to call Poison Control Centre. That, I need to stress, is a great service. I didn't wait long and a lady picked up and asked me questions. I at the end took a shower to wash off the remaining oily material and changed my cloths. I lost my appetite completely and didn't even want to drink water. The lady told me that I would be fine but she was surprised that I had discharged the spray in the house! That is a lesson for me to if I'm packing for a hike, it will be done in the garage. I now understand why they ask you to sign a paper when you buy this item! I guess in it you acknowledge the risks associated with this item if it is deployed towards someone. That in fact is a good tool if you want to hurt the one you dislike but there will be consequences! 

(Photo: A bear spray similar to the one that I had trouble with!)

My New Machine!

 I have already written about my troubles with so-called bread(!) here in Canada and one solution that I have found. Now I have more options after buying this bread maker. It has a number of options and different recipes and since I only eat Whole Wheat Bread, I tried to use that option, which is option # 5, not that it is important or anything. Result? Not so good? 

Why? Because I altered the recipe and that is why that the user has been warned about! It was not so bad but I cut salt, sugar, milk and any other ingredients rather than water, flour and yeast and the outcome was like a not very proportional middle-sized rock! 

The taste was not too bad but I know now that it could have been much better.

The good thing about the machine is you can add all of the ingredients to its container at night and when you're going to work in the morning, turn it on. Fresh bread, which is cooled off, will be ready when you are home. 

The second time I used the machine the result was not much better but now I know exactly what I will have to do for the next time! 

(Photo: The Black + Decker bread maker. I wonder if that is the same as Black & Decker or someone used this old trick to sell his machine! I'm not disappointed since I still have not used the machine regularly. I'm sure it will be working just fine)

Ryan Gosling's New Movie

Many people know Ryan Gosling, the actor from London, Ontario. Many didn't like his performance in Blade Runner: 2049 but I liked it. He had a good performance and that's the only movie of him that I've seen so far plus First Man which is a biography of Neil Armstrong. It's an okay movie and interesting to the ones who have not read Armstrong's biography(!), including me. His performance is okay, just like the way it was in Blade Runner: 2049. So that's probably why many people don't take him seriously!

With that said, it's in the news these days that he is portraying a young Taliban fighter who rises to fame for being outspoken and eventually becomes a local commander and creates a new branch of Taliban which disagrees with many of the fundamentals of the original group and ...

I'm not going to spoil that. It's been said that it will be in many theaters in the US since the pandemic laws are loosen there, soon but I have no idea about Canadian shows. The movie has been titled The Adamant. 

(Photo: Ryan Gosling is seen here in the center back as a young Taliban fighter. The machine guns that the other two are holding is Dshk which is the abbreviation translation of the Russian abbreviation(!) ДШК. It stands for Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-caliber which is a Soviet design large caliber machine gun. These have been the favorite Afghan's weapon in the past 40 years) 

4 Days Later

 It's been 4 days now that I got my first doze of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. I feel completely normal now but the first day after the shot was horrible: I felt very tired and in fact fatigued. It was like a group of people had punched and kicked me for hours. My eyes were red and I had headaches coming and going. Lucky me that I didn't have to go on the day after the shot but the surprising thing was that it has been the easiest vaccine probably ever! If you have gotten a shot, compare it with mine and tell me which one has been easier:

I went to a local pharmacy, which is only 3 minutes drive from my place and talked to a young girl who by the way was very nice and helpful. Unfortunately much younger than me or I would've asked her out! She added me to a list and that was it. On the day I was in the pharmacy at exactly the appointment time and filled out a small form which was basically accepting every risk associated with the vaccine. Then a guy came and had a little chat with me and applied the needle after cleaning a spot on my left shoulder. It was so quick that I barely felt anything and that's because the amount is very small. 

He had me sitting there for 15 minutes to see the initial body reaction and told me to go back within 12 weeks for the second shot while handing me a paper. 

As I said everything started in the evening and the day after and continued until yesterday but there still is a chance that the body rejects the vaccine or has an odd reaction. I'll wait and see!

(Photo: The biohazard symbol and the title of this post is borrowed from British movie 28 Days Later. Not that I've seen it or recommend it! I'm not a fan of zombie movies. They are all the same to me! Just like all of the superhero movies!)

Did I Get It?!

Alberta now has the most number of infected individuals for every 100,000 people in the entire country. I'm not going to write the detail as it's available on the web but what's interesting is the number of people who still refuse to accept the fact that it's a deadly virus and get together for " Rodeo " or a " freaking stupid church service! " 

Where and when, in the world, any religion has helped anyone that now helps a bunch of stupid losers somewhere in northern Alberta, I think in Edmonton or nearby!?

With that in mind a came home a few days ago, perhaps after my massage and I had all sorts of bad physical feelings! I don't know what percentage of it was from the massage and what percentage was only illusion. With the cases going up and up every day, I think I'm eligible(!) to be scared!

I will have to wait to see if there're any symptoms. Then will probably, probably(!), act upon it

(Photo: This actually was not the first time I suspected that I was infected but it was false every time. I will have to be careful in the past few months that are left) 

The Talkative Lady

I went for a massage a few days ago, a medical massage, just to be clear, and I faced a very chatty lady from Eastern Europe. People of former Eastern Block are the unfriendliest people that I have encountered during all these years of living in Canada. Bulgarians are generally crazy as hell! People of the former Yugoslavia, mostly, even worse! Russians and Ukrainians, the same. Romanians, based on my experience, a little bit better but fall under the same category!

This lady, with green eyes and dirty blond hair, laid me down and then after starting the massage, started talking by telling me where she was from, which Io won't reveal here to protect her identity! I have never had an experience like that! Perhaps because my masseuses have always been either Canadians or Chinese!  Then she started about how she came to Calgary and then how she felt and stuff like that. That didn't make the massage more pleasurable because I had to respond and it was not really comfortable doing that. Then the conversation was somehow directed to the topic of where I was from! After a few guesses and few hints, I eventually had to tell her. 

Many masseuses and hair stylist talk to their customers to show that they care and they are friendly. Not all of them are genuine, of course. There was one bitch who use to tell me how sexy I was and lies like that. She wanted me to provide cash for her and she was stealing minutes. Eventually I stopped seeing her. This one, however, was good in the first session and even provided me with a receipt. So despite the distance, if I can cash the receipt, I will go again because she even showed signed that I might be able to squeeze a date out of it, unless I read the signs incorrectly or it was a bait! 

(Photo: The hand gesture or sign of talking too much. I think it's only common in Western culture. Where I am coming from this perhaps construed as a duck, a goose or any similar waterfowl bird!)